Monthly Archives: December 2012

This is a guest post by Robert, who lives in Calgary and worked as a financial adviser before retiring at age 35. He is married, has three kids and has returned to school with the goal of eventually living and working overseas.

It’s that time of the year when many people reflect on the past and plan for the future. The new year is a time for resolutions and a firm commitment to make our lives better (for a few weeks, anyway). It’s especially helpful to focus on things we can control (like how much exercise I do) instead of things we can’t (like how much exercise my wife does). I’d like to share a few ideas for resolutions that our readers might consider for 2013.

If you can earn more, that might make a good goal. For example, if you have an opportunity to work overtime (without impacting your quality of life), or if you work on commission, or if you can negotiate a raise, that increased income might give you the biggest benefit. Some people receive pre-determined raises each year. What I recommend is committing all (or at least half) of your increased income to either savings or debt repayment. That way, you gain some long term benefit from the increased income.

If you have debt, especially if the amount is large and the term (amortization) is long, increasing your debt repayment can have huge long term benefit. Paying down a little extra principal can really cut down the amount of interest that you pay over the life of the loan. You can use an online mortgage calculator (or car loan calculator) to prove this to yourself. If you have a line of credit, try increasing your monthly payment by $100. Or if you have a mortgage that allows prepayment, try to save up for a $1000 pre-payment.

Almost everyone can save more. It’s often difficult to decide where to spend less, but most of us spend all of our income. In my experience, spending often expands (or contracts) depending on available cash. If that’s the case for you, direct an extra $100 to a savings account each month. If you find that you have difficulty making ends meet, you can take some back out. But most people can stretch a little and find that they hardly miss the extra money. At the same time, it begins to accumulate for your long term benefit.

The ideal resolution would be to do a little of each. Get a raise and direct half of it toward additional savings. On top of that, increase debt repayment and savings by a small amount each month. If you do that, you almost guarantee that 2013 with be a better year financially than 2012.

Just so you know I don’t plan on posting much this week. So get put down the tablet, phone or computer and go have some fun. After all a early retirement plan is sort of useless if you don’t have friends or family to hang out with. 🙂

You know the end of the world is not going to happen overnight. If it did occur it will likely happen slowly over a number of years. Rome did not fall in a day in fact Rome took many years to fall. A civilization collapses over the years slowly from debt, political instability and other factors.

So while the world is still here this morning, how would you survive the end of the world? For fun here is my guide.

1) Be Flexible – You can’t expect things to be stable so get use to change. Take work that you can do and make sure sure you have practical skills like growing a garden or making wine. Better yet start a local business for some essential item.

2) Be Debt Free – In a world that is falling apart at the seams you want to not owe other people money as that gives them undue influence on you. So pay back your friends ASAP.

3) Social Safety Net – The best currency in the world is social support from others. Make sure you have some good relationships with friends and family. So be nice to others.

4) Keep Some Savings – Your bank won’t vanish overnight so keep some cash handy to ease the transition. Some cash at home isn’t a bad idea but don’t go crazy.

5) Move To A Nice Location – I would personally head for a location with better weather. Just cause the settlers survived a SK winter without central heat doesn’t mean I want to try.

So somewhat ironically that list could also apply to your retirement plan. So in the end I won’t worry about the end of the world…cause I feel fine. 🙂

Disclaimer

I am not god. I am a mere mortal as such my reality is defined by my own views. So your reality might not resemble mine because of your views. As such all opinions, ideas and investments on this blog might not work for you as they did for me. Be a big person and do your own research and make up your own mind before trying something. The opinions expressed are my own. You might need to contact a local professional for advice.